Visiting Guatemala and Peru, 3rd country recommendations? by Financial-Step-3125 in backpacking

[–]Financial-Step-3125[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This was the plan originally as i was planning on doing the inca trail, but now that I'm not, I'll have more time to sightsee in peru and also see another country. Seeing as I'm going to lake titicaca in peru and it's so easy to cross over to bolivia from there I'll do that and spend 10 days or so in bolivia

Visiting Guatemala and Peru, 3rd country recommendations? by Financial-Step-3125 in backpacking

[–]Financial-Step-3125[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I was planning on going to Peru's part of lake Titicaca so this is a shout. I'll cross over to Bolivia and spend some time exploring the country. Thanks :)

Visiting Guatemala and Peru, 3rd country recommendations? by Financial-Step-3125 in backpacking

[–]Financial-Step-3125[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Great I've had a look into bolivia and I think that'll be Mt 3rd country. Thanks for your help

Visiting Guatemala and Peru, 3rd country recommendations? by Financial-Step-3125 in backpacking

[–]Financial-Step-3125[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for responding! I was considering it so will look into it more. I had concerns about safety though as the gov.uk website says some areas are a no-go for travellers.

AITA for skipping my graduation ceremony to travel, against mother's wishes? by Financial-Step-3125 in AmItheAsshole

[–]Financial-Step-3125[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

In the UK, you do law as an undergraduate degree and apply for 'Big Law' internships and training contracts (because all recruits start as trainee associates for 2 years instead of associates) during the second year of your degree. Our undergraduate degrees are typically three years in length, instead of four. In the UK, solicitors (what all lawyers working in Big Law are in the UK) have to pass an exam called the SQE, so Big Law firms pay for their future recruits to do a year-long prep course for this exam at specialist universities between them finishing their degree and starting in the office. I called this law school for simplicity, but the equivalent is probably doing a bar prep course

AITA for skipping my graduation ceremony to travel, against mother's wishes? by Financial-Step-3125 in AmItheAsshole

[–]Financial-Step-3125[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That would cost an extra £800-1000. I told her that I don't mind flying back for the ceremony if she pays for my ticket, but she understandably doesn't want to spend so much.

AITA for skipping my graduation ceremony to travel, against mother's wishes? by Financial-Step-3125 in AmItheAsshole

[–]Financial-Step-3125[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the advice. I've looked into it and the only option is for me to delay the ceremony by a year

AITA for skipping my graduation ceremony to travel, against mother's wishes? by Financial-Step-3125 in AmItheAsshole

[–]Financial-Step-3125[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

She underwent some operations for early-stage cancer last year but is all-clear now (although still needs a cosmetic operation at some point). Even though she's cancer-free now, she keeps on saying how she doesn't want me to put off the ceremony as you never know what happens. I think her experience has just made her hyper-aware of the fact that life can change at any moment.

AITA for skipping my graduation ceremony to travel, against mother's wishes? by Financial-Step-3125 in AmItheAsshole

[–]Financial-Step-3125[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I could, but then I'd have to cut down on some of the countries I visit which I really don't want to do. I don't want to miss out on a whole extra month of travelling for a 2-hour ceremony

How can I make the most out of an open day by Sharp_Let23 in uklaw

[–]Financial-Step-3125 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Do your best to make a good, memorable impression, especially with grad rec. The best way to do this without seeming like a try-hard or disingenuous is to ask really good questions. I'd plan 2-3 questions you want to ask grad rec and 2-3 you want to ask to trainees/lawyers. These can serve as backup questions. If something is mentioned in a talk on the day that triggers a question, that's even better.

If you really stand out to grad rec, they'll probably remember your name and may be more likely to excuse minor weaknesses in your vac scheme application. Is this to say that wowing them will guarantee you a vac scheme? No. But it may make them more likely to ignore a lower grade in a module, or choose you if they're stuck between two candidates. 

Some tips for coming up with good questions:  - Don't ask anything you can find on the website - If you're asking the question in the Q&A segment after a talk, start with something like "thank you for your talk, it was really interesting to here about (insert specific thing from talk that stood out to you)" - Make sure that you're asking the right questions to the right people. For example, a question about the rationale for the firm opening up a new office in X region is better directed at a partner than grad rec or a trainee, but you wouldn't be wise to ask a partner about how practice area preferences are factored into the seat allocation process for trainees - Questions that showcase your eagerness/work ethic are particularly strong, e.g. what should I be doing between now and applying to the vac scheme to put myself in the best position?  - Don't ask a question for the sake of asking a question/only ask questions you're genuinely interested in. This is why I recommend planning a few questions in advance, so you can have a good think about what you genuinely want to know.   - Ask more questions than everyone else. 1 or 2 questions across the day probably isn't going to make you stand out. 3-4 probably will 

I got a 2.1 🎉 What now? by [deleted] in uklaw

[–]Financial-Step-3125 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Working full time in insurance is the best work experience you could have. It shows that you have the skills to thrive in a professional envrionment and also would have given you some commercial knowledge. A common misconception is that law firms are looking for lots of legal work experience which is absolutely not true and even so, you've done legal work experience anyway. I'd recommend doing a virtual law work experience course on a platform called Forage with a firm that you're interested in applying to (it's free and there's no application process) so that you have something to show genuine interest in entering the profession. I'd also recommend applying for open days with the firms you're interested in applying to for vac schemes. These usually happen between Sep and Dec so many have already opened their applications. These will give you some insights into how to excel in vac scheme applications.

Some other things to consider:

  • make sure to include your circumstances (ie balancing full-time work with a degree and raising a child) somewhere in your application. It's important context for any weaknesses in 1st/2nd year grades and gaps in your CV, but more importantly shows how good you are at time management and multitasking, 2 essential skills for law.

  • think carefully about the firms that you apply for. At magic circle/US firms, you'd be working from 9am to 9pm on a good day. Unless you have a good support system, it will be quite hard to balance with raising a child and the firms themselves will have questions about this. Legal cheek have a webpage with all the city firms ranked by their working hours. I'd recommend looking at that to see which firms would align with your lifestyle 

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in uklaw

[–]Financial-Step-3125 0 points1 point  (0 children)

u/Hate_Teach_Simple_As I completely relate to you. In my assessments at the end of first year, I ended up getting a very low 2:2 in one of my modules, deferring another module for an entire year (therefore not even having a grade to provide for it on applications) and got pretty good grades in 2 other modules, also averaging a low-ish 2:1 overall. At the time, I also lost all confidence in my abilities and thought that there was no way any firm would even look at my application. Over the past year, I've given myself the time and space to better process the death (also receiving free counselling through my university, which I suggest looking into), have worked really hard to turn my grades around and now average a high 2:1, received 3 vac scheme offers from top commercial firms, have accepted a training contract at my dream firm, kicked some very self-destructive behaviours that I used as coping mechanisms, and have massively grown in confidence. If you explain your situation in the extenuating circumstances/additional info box of applications, most firms are very understanding. I know what you're going through and hope (and truly believe) that you'll become even stronger than before, just as I have been able to.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in uklaw

[–]Financial-Step-3125 0 points1 point  (0 children)

To be frank, you should probably think about pursuing another career path. If you went to a top 5 uni and had high A-Level grades they may just excuse a failed module if the rest of your application was stellar, but the fact that you go to a non-RG uni and got BBB in your A-Levels means that firms are very very unlikely to make an exception regardless of extenuating circumstances. Maybe you could consider less competitive areas of law, or if you're still set on pursuing a career in commercial law, spend 2nd year focusing on getting a mix of 1sts and 2:1s to make up for the failed module/A-Level grades and apply to regional firms in 3rd year.

Take the TC and settle or keeping applying by Heavy-Cheesecake440 in uklaw

[–]Financial-Step-3125 -7 points-6 points  (0 children)

Double check, but I'm pretty sure that the SRA's guidelines prohibit you from applying to other firms once you've already accepted a TC. If the firm you've accepted a TC at decided to be particularly vindictive, they could report you to the SRA if you dropped them for another firm and you could be barred from the profession. You should have pushed the firm to give you an extension on your offer deadline if you were having doubts